For smart home fans: Cheap e-ink display with WiFi and Bluetooth has 3 months of battery life

Regular Notebookcheck readers may have heard the brand name TRMNL before. Now, the company has launched the TRMNL 7.5-inch (OG) DIY kit, which can be preordered for $35.92 at Seeed Studio. As usual, prospective buyers should check out the shipping conditions to their specific location before ordering.

This is an e-ink display with extensive features, including a pre-installed circuit board. The system could be used to display sensor data, a calendar, weather reports or other useful info in a smart home context. The gadget is primarily suited for content that does not require frequent updates. According to the manufacturer, static content can be displayed for several months. For instance, if the screen content is refreshed every six hours, the 2,000mAh battery supposedly lasts for up to three months.

The TRMNL screen is equipped with a circuit board based on the XIAO ESP32-S3 Plus. It’s compatible with ESPHome, so it can be natively integrated into smart homes. According to the manufacturer, the system is also fully compatible with the Arduino IDE, a development platform that many tinkerers should be familiar with.

Furthermore, the e-ink display is compatible TRMNL BYOD ecosystem and offers over 375 plugins and 8 layouts, so programming it in the traditional sense is not always required. As the name already implies, the display measures 7.5 inches and has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, but it cannot display colors. Thanks to the XIAO ESP32-S3, WiFi or Bluetooth can be used to transfer data.